Alibaba Absorbs Ele.me Escalating Retail War With Meituan And JD.com
1. Alibaba merges Ele.me into e-commerce, ending local services segment. 2. Shares rose nearly 4% following the restructuring news. 3. New strategy focuses on instant retail to compete with Meituan and JD.com. 4. Competition in instant retail has seen 50% annual growth since 2018. 5. Alibaba's e-commerce chief sees quick commerce as a huge opportunity.